Bernardsville Quarry, Inc. v. Borough of Bernardsville

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

In this case a municipality enacted an ordinance regulating quarries. The ordinance imposed a licensing requirement for quarry operations and limited the depth below which property could not be quarried. The owner of a quarry contends that the application of the ordinance to its property effectively prohibits its use as a quarry, and therefore constitutes a governmental taking of its property. That contention poses the major issue on this appeal.

I

Plaintiff, Bernardsville Quarry, Inc. (BQI), purchased property, referred to as the Ferrante…